In the Event of Failure
by adelaidybug
Summary: What if the astrolabe didn't work?
1. Chapter 1

**This story was inspired by "Return" by CSlvHP11**

**Warehouse 13 is the property of the Syfy network. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

Claudia lay there hoping _praying _that Artie would use the fracking astrolabe soon. While the team had been with her, she had tried not to mention her discomfort, but as soon as the cellar became silent she began to notice the the pain in her legs. She was trapped face down, and was doing her best to keep dirt out of her mouth and lungs. She wished she could reach for her Farnsworth and at least talk with Leena as she sat there. Time dragged on, and she began to grow sleepy. She realized it was getting harder to breathe, and she tried not to panic. She shut her eyes tightly against the thick darkness of the cellar and waited, waited, waited. Consciousness slipped in and out of her, and at some point she thought she could hear her name being called. She thought maybe it was Steve calling her to deadland, or wherever she would end up. But then she felt a slight breeze. The huge, heavy rocks around her shifted slightly, and then suddenly they were tumbling off the pile on her legs and onto her back. She let out a shriek at the pain, and heard her name shouted again. Soon, she saw a patch of light, and felt someone pulling the rocks off from her body.. Her senses were overwhelmed with the dusty air and the pain and the light, and she blacked out. Her eyes wouldn't open when she felt someone pulling her as gently as possible from the rubble. She was in loads of pain, but any response seemed like far too much work. Someone murmured to her. She tried to make out what they were saying but it was all too much, and soon retreated further back into her mind.

* * *

When she shook off the heaviest layers of unconsciousness, she felt as if the whole world were spinning violently. Something was covering her mouth and nose. She grimaced and tried to open her eyes, but it hurt. Everything hurt. She felt a hand slide through her hair.

"It's okay. We're air-lifting you to a hospital. You're going to be okay."

She let sleep take her again.

* * *

Awareness evaded her for quite some time before she finally awoke again. She could tell she was on heavy painkillers because of the near out-of-body sensation she was encountering. A noise left her lips. It was a croaking, choking moan, and soon someone was by her side. Everything felt fuzzy and surreal. There was a murmuring noise, and Claudia tried to figure out who it was and what they were saying. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking for a few minute before things came into focus. Finally, she realized that it was Leena's gentle presence beside her. She tried to say something, but dryness caught at her throat. She tried to cough, then choked and tried to sit up, but only her shoulders would move. Leena gently pushed her back down. She reached up clumsily, and realized one of her arms was in a brace, and the other was in a cast that went past her elbow and covered 3 of her fingers.

"Just calm down, Claudia. It's okay."

Leena put a straw to her lips, and Claudia drank quickly, relishing in the cool water. Oxygen tubes tickled in her nose as she sipped. When she was done, she let go of the straw and spoke. Though her voice was hoarse, and her words slurred together, Leena understood her. "Astrolaa... din…. 'ork." It wasn't a question, but Leena answered anyway.

"No, it didn't work."

She couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, and drifted back to sleep.

* * *

She reluctantly woke up some time later and stared for nearly an hour at her IV drip-drip-dripping. A hand touched her shoulder and she painfully moved her neck to see Leena.

"Hi."

"Whatheyhameonn?"

"What? Oh, what do they have you on?"

She barely nodded, but it sent shooting pain to her head.

"Tons of morphine. Are you still in pain?"

"Alil…"

"I'm sorry. Are you thirsty?"

"Mhm."

Leena held the water for her as she drank again.

"The doctor has seen you a few times. He says you're going to be okay."

"Wha… Whathhh…" She gave up and drifted back to sleep.

* * *

She awoke a few hours later, and she was in immense pain. Her arms both seemed to scream at her, and she didn't even try to move her neck.

"Owww."

"Hey Claude. The doctor is lowering your pain meds so she can run some tests."

Claudia grimaced.

Just then the doctor came in.

"Hello Claudia. I'm Doctor Cipriani," the man said in a thick Italian accent. "How are you feeling?"

"Hurts. Erything… Excccept… Legs."

"When your body was crushed by the rocks it severely injured your spinal cord at the T7 vertebra. A severe injury of your spine can cause partial or full paralysis, so I'm going to run some tests to assess your sensory and mobile ability."

"What?" Leena's voice piped up sharply.

"We don't know anything yet. She may be fine. I'm going to start with a pinprick test. Claudia, I'm going to prick your skin with a pin, and you tell me when you feel it, okay? I'm going to have you close your eyes for this, so you can focus on the sensation."

"Okkkay."

The doctor pulled the blanket off of Claudia's lower body. Her legs were both broken, and had been splinted, but not casted because the doctor wanted to do these tests. The doctor carefully unwrapped Claudia's legs from the splints. They were horribly bruised and scabbed and looked like they shouldn't still be attached to her. It seemed like they should hurt, but she couldn't feel anything. The doctor reclined the bed back, and Claudia shut her eyes. There was a long pause.

"Just let us know when you feel something, okay?"

"Mhm…"

She waited and waited.

"Gon' start?"

She heard a gasp from Leena.

"Wha?" She opened her eyes and looked toward the doctor, but she couldn't sit up.

"Claudia, shut your eyes again. I want to try a couple more times."

She shut her eyes and waited to feel something. But there was nothing; No sensation besides the pain in her arms and head and neck.

"Don' feel anything."

"Okay, can you try wiggling your toes for me?"

The young woman tried and failed to do anything.

"How about lifting your leg up?"

Again, she stayed stationary.

"Wha… 's happening?"

"It appears that right now you don't have any sensory or mobile ability in your legs. I'm going to bring the pin up your body slowly, and you tell me when you feel it, okay? Can you close your eyes for me again?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, fighting against her pain and fear. She waited and waited, but finally she felt a dull sensation on her ribs. She opened her eyes and saw him poking the pin through her gown.

"There."

"Okay. It seems as though your sensory ability starts at your upper torso. You should know this might improve eventually. We'll have to work more to see how much of your stomach muscles you will be able to use, but it's a good sign that you're breathing on your own."

She tried not to think too hard, because nothing quite made sense. Why couldn't she feel him poking her legs? Why was Leena crying? Her head was clouded with pain.

"Morphine," she managed semi-clearly.

"Yes, of course."

Claudia was given more pain killers, and things fuzzed in and out. When she woke again, Artie was there.

"Claudia…"

"Whyyy din work?"

"I don't know. I'm… I'm so sorry."

"Eryone… Alive?"

Artie's face fell, and Claudia broke down in tears.

"Who?"

"Pete. He… he got stabbed. I tried to use the astrolabe, and it didn't work."

She shut her eyes and sobbed.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what went wrong."

She closed her eyes, letting the tears take over until she fell asleep once again.

* * *

**Leave a review and let me know what you think.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Warehouse 13 and its characters are the property of Jack Kenney and NBC Universal. I don't own the show or the characters and am not making or exchanging money in association with this story.**

* * *

Myka awoke on her hard bunk her fourth day in jail. The jail guards had taken all of her possessions and given her a khaki uniform. She had then been put in a single cell with only a bed and a toilet. Something was wrong. Artie and Pete should have used the Astrolabe by now. It must not have worked. She paced back and forth in the tiny cell, but she could do nothing to help save the Warehouse.

* * *

Claudia awoke again noticing that she was far more lucid than her last few spurts of consciousness. Her arms and neck and shoulders hurt, and she felt exhausted and depressed. Mr. Keeler-the regent who had been researching with Leena-was sitting next to her, typing furiously on a laptop.

"I'm caretaker now right?" Her voice was weak and gravelly, but she was thankful to hear that her words were not slurred together.

"Even though there isn't really a Warehouse or any artifacts to take care of, I'm the Caretaker now."

Mr. Keeler looked up. "That's right."

"I had better get my crap together then."

"You have time. We're trying to get Myka out of prison before we start coming up with a big plan."

"Myka's in prison?!"

"Sorry, you didn't know?"

"No. What happened?"

"She distracted the police while Artie and Pete tried to find the astrolabe."

Just then, the doctor came in along with an intern.

"Hello Claudia. How are you feeling?"

"I'm in a lot of pain."

"Your words sound much more clear than the past few days."

"Yeah, I feel slightly more alive now."

"Good. I would like to run a few more tests on you today, and then I'm going have a physical therapist come in to see you."

"Okay."

The bulky plastic jacket she was wearing to prevent her spine from moving was taken off. The man performed a couple of tests, asking her to move herself, (with no success) and using the pinprick test again. The two doctors then carefully rolled Claudia to her back, where they repeated the tests. After all the poking and prodding was done, Claudia was moved once again onto her back, and the stiff jacket was put back on her.

"So, I was in kind of a drug haze for a while there. Am I… Am I paralyzed?"

"Your spinal cord was injured at the T7 vertebra. Right now the injury is very swollen, and it's difficult to tell whether it is complete or incomplete.. Either way it is possible that you may regain some function. Right now, you're not exhibiting any mobility or sensation below your chest. This is typical with this kind of injury, especially so soon afterward."

She looked down, and saw a tube running from under the sheets down to a bag with yellow liquid in it.

"I have a catheter. I can't… I can't pee on my own? What about poop? I mean, there isn't a catheter for your butt. What am I supposed to do about that?"

"We've started you on something called a bowel program. A nurse is going to come in and explain it to you and we'll have you use a bedpan until you can sit up without support.

"The B&B- the house I live in has stairs. I'm not going to be able to walk up them am I?"

"Certainly not right away."

"Am I going to be able to shower on my own?"

"Eventually, yes. These are the kinds of things your occupational therapist will work on with you."

She felt like she was going to throw up.

"What will I be able to do?"

"I don't know yet. If it was a complete injury, you will still be able to dress, cook, and work independently. It's possible, especially if your injury is incomplete, that you will be able to regain some stomach muscle usage, and maybe some leg usage. We just have to wait and see. In a few weeks, as long as you're stable, we'll send you back to the US."

"To go home?"

"No. You'll need to go to a rehabilitation center, where they'll teach you how to live with your injury, and hopefully help you regain some function."

Claudia moved her left hand up, rubbing her bruised forehead and wincing.

"I have a job to do… How long do you think I'll be there?"

"Probably a few months."

"Months? But I need to- nevermind."

"I know this is a lot to handle."

"Yeah, it is."

"I can send the hospital counselor to talk with you."

"No, that's okay. I don't need that."

"Okay. Let me know if you change your mind."

The doctor left, and the regent looked over at her.

"Do you want to talk?"

"No."

"Okay. I guess I'm going to go get something to eat."

"Alright. I'll be here," she said with a smirk.

When he left, her countenance dropped. Tears stung in her eyes, and she clumsily moved her braced left hand to wipe them away.

She was still trying to control her raw emotions when a physical therapist came in.

"You're Claudia, right?" The woman asked in an American accent.

"Yeah," she muttered.

"Great. I'm Jane Ashton. I'll be your physical therapist while you're here. I'm going to do some range-of-motion exercises with your legs, okay? Then we'll talk about an arm strengthening program."

"Yeah, whatever," Claudia said tiredly.

Jane picked up one of Claudia's legs, both of which were now in casts, and gently lifted it up and down, up and down. She moved each leg several different ways, and Claudia grew increasingly irritable.

"What exactly is the point of this? I'm paralyzed. My legs don't work. Were you sent to the wrong patient's room?"

"Here's the point of this; One: If you are able to regain some leg function, you will need your muscles. Two: Patients who do range of motion exercises have significantly faster and less risky recoveries. Three: even if you don't regain function, atrophied muscles can cause other complications, and you want to avoid the tiny leg thing for as long as possible. Oh yeah, and four: your doctor ordered this, so suck it up. We're trying to help you recover and do as much as you can, so the least you can do is cooperate."

Claudia raised an eyebrow. "Okay."

"Sorry. It's just… the world is going crazy lately. My husband lost his job because his company is going bankrupt, and there are rioters everywhere. I don't know what we're going to do."

"Yeah, you're right. I need to suck it up. I need to get out of here so I can fix all the crap that's happening."

"What do you mean?"

"Listen, don't tell anybody, but I'm a federal agent. I know what's causing all of the violence, the economies crashing. And I may be able to help fix it. So, I'll do my best to do whatever you tell me so that I can get out of here."

* * *

That day, Artie was having a conference call with the regents.

"Mr Kosan, we need more agents. In order to do any effective work, we need one if not two more agents."

"We will get started on background checks."

"We don't have time to train in new agents. We need to get the world back in order as quickly as possible."

"What do you suggest, then?"

"We have an artifact at the Bed and Breakfast that could help us. It brought Marcus Diamond back to life. And it could do the same for agent Steve Jinks."

"Absolutely not."

"Mr. Kosan, we don't have any other options. I wouldn't ask you to take this risk unless it was absolutely necessary, but we need another agent. We _need _Steve."

"Let me take some time to think it over."

"Please decide as quickly as you can. We don't have time to waste."

* * *

**Please leave a review! **


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter, but this is the only way I could think of to bring Steve back. So please don't hate me.**

* * *

The next day, Artie came into Claudia's hospital room looking extremely scattered.

"Hey old man," Claudia said sleepily. She was still on a lot of morphine.

"What? Oh, hi. Yeah, I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"Well… When I brought up resurrecting Steve using the metronome to the regents-"

"You did?" She interrupted excitedly.

"Yeah. But Jane mentioned that we should use it to bring Pete back, and we're at kind of a standstill now."

Claudia felt like her heart was going to be ripped in two. Pete was her friend, and practically a brother. But Steve was her first and only best friend.

"No. I took the metronome. And I took it for Steve. I loved Pete as much as anyone. But I took the metronome for Steve." Her voice was hard.

"I know. Mr. Kosan and Mrs. Latimer and flying in tonight, and we'll talk about this more. We were going to have a funeral for Pete in two days, but now I don't know."

"Isn't there a way we can use the metronome on both of them?"

The man shook his head. "Not how it works."

"Isn't there anything else we can do to save them both?"

Artie sighed. "We lost many of our artifacts. We're going to have to build a new facility, and hope that somehow the spirit of the Warehouse won't be lost. I don't know if we'll be able to find another resurrection artifact. We don't even know if the metronome will work, or what side-effects it will have. I'm not sure we'll even be allowed to use it."

"I'm bringing back Steve. I don't care what I have to do or how much it costs. I'm bringing him back."

Artie stepped back at the teenager's dangerous tone.

"Claudia, let's be reasonable."

"No, Artie. I was past reason the moment I found Steve dead."

"Claudia, this is about the greater good. If Steve is going to be in danger or pain because you brought him back, will he think it's worth it?"

"I'm not willing to think about a future without Steve in it. You know what I'm capable of, Artie. I don't think you want to get on my bad side."

"Is that a threat?"

"I think it is."

"Alright, you're in a lot of pain-emotionally and physically- and you should take some time to think about if you want to go rogue. Is that what Steve would want? What about being Caretaker?"

"Damn it, Artie! You're not taking me seriously."

"I am. Which is why I'm going to leave you alone to think about what you really want. Do you really want to be the next Walter Sykes? Do you want to cause all the pain that he caused?"

"Just leave me alone!"

"Okay," Artie said, retreating from the room.

Claudia pounded the bed with her braced left wrist, then winced in pain. She was all raw emotion and didn't know what she wanted anymore. All she knew was that she needed Steve back.

* * *

That night, Jane Latimer and Adwin Kosan arrived at the Italian hospital where Claudia was staying. The young woman was sleeping, as she was still on copious amounts of morphine. Jane touched her shoulder gently, and the young woman groaned.

"Sorry to wake you, but Mr. Kosan and I are here. How are you feeling?"

"I lost four of my friends and am paralyzed from the chest down. How do you think I'm doing?" She spat the words bitterly.

"We're here to talk about plans to build a new Warehouse."

"There's no way we can bring back the old one?"

Jane shook her head.

"There is, however, an artifact that will move all of the artifacts that survived to our new destination."

"Have you started scouting out new locations?"

"There's one about 50 miles south of Univille."

"But… that means we won't be able to live in the B&B."

"We can find a new one…"

"No. It needs to be closer."

"Okay."

At this point, Jane knew that Claudia was dangerously close to some sort of psychotic break, so she was trying to be as accommodating as possible.

"The other thing we need to discuss is Warehouse agents. I understand you collected a metronome artifact with the intention of resurrecting Steven Jinks," Mr. Kosan said carefully.

"Yes, I did."

"Claudia, please. My son is dead. Please let me have the metronome to bring him back," Mrs. Latimer pleaded, tears gathering in her eyes.

"I got the metronome for Steve. His mother lost Olivia, her husband, and now Steve too. She doesn't even know he's dead yet. You have the Warehouse. She doesn't have anyone. I wish we could bring them both back, I really do. And the second we find another resurrection artifact, it's all yours. But the metronome is for Steve."

"Claudia-"

"Mrs. Latimer, may I speak to you in the hall?"

"Yes, of course."

When the two regents got to the hallway, Mrs. Latimer put a hand to her head.

"I want my son back."

"I know, Jane. Claudia is under a lot of stress. But we can't afford to let her slip through the cracks. If she goes rogue we'll only have two agents left. And that's not taking into account the fact that she's our Caretaker, and that she will be able to hack into any firewall we put in her way.

"Adwin, this is my son we're talking about. I can't just compromise my boy's life in order to stay on the good side of a teenager."

"Mrs. Latimer, your son is dead."

"But we can bring him back!"

"We don't know the side effects of the metronome. I wouldn't even consider letting Ms. Donovan use it if she wasn't teetering on the edge of a breakdown. I'm so sorry, Jane. We have to let Claudia bring back Steve."

Jane sighed. "You tell her. I need some time."

"I understand."

Jane left, and Mr. Kosan walked back into Claudia's room.

"Ms. Donovan, we have decided you will be allowed to bring Steve back using the metronome."

Claudia sighed in relief, and let her head sink back into her pillow.

"We will airlift him to this hospital overnight, and use the metronome in the morning. Tomorrow night, we will have a funeral for Agent Latimer."

Claudia nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Kosan."

"You must understand, if the negative effects of the metronome become greater than the benefits, we may have to take action."

"I just want my best friend back."

* * *

That night, Myka was released from jail. The regents had connections in almost every country's government, so they were able to avoid legal action. She was exhausted, but before they brought her back to the hotel where Artie, Leena, and the regents were staying, they brought her to see Claudia.

"Hey," the brunette said. Her hair was tousled, and she looked rather gaunt, a sad-eyed smile tugging at her lips. Claudia was stiff competition in the who-looks-worse competition, with bruises everywhere, as well as her three casted limbs, and brace on her left wrist.

"Did they tell you about Pete?"

Myka nodded, her lips tight.

"Did they tell you everyone thinks I'm some sort of monster because I want to use the metronome on Steve instead of Pete?"

"No."

"Do you hate me too?"

"No. I could never hate you, Claudia. I guess I hadn't even thought of using it to bring Pete back."

"Now that you are… do you hate me?"

"No… There's no way we can bring them both back?"

"No."

"Then… I suppose I understand."

They were silent for several minutes before Claudia spoke again.

"Did they tell you what happened to me?"

"I know you got hurt. You look pretty rough."

"Gee, thanks."

Myka almost cracked a smile.

"I'm um…. I'm paralyzed from about here," she put her hand just below her bust, "down."

"Is it a spinal cord injury?"

"Yeah."

"Complete or incomplete?"

"They don't know yet. There's too much swelling."

"I'm so sorry, Claudia." For some reason Myka thought of what Claudia's landlady had said when they were trying to find out about her: 'more bad luck than a turtle on its back.'

"It's not your fault."

They were quiet again.

"You look like crap. You should go back to the hotel."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

When Myka left, Claudia closed her eyes, fighting back tears. She couldn't believe how much had changed in the past week. She picked up her phone-a new one Leena had picked up for her since her old one had been crushed in the accident-and dialed Joshua's number. The phone rang and rang, and just when she was about to hang up, her brother answered.

"Hello?"

"Josh?"

"Hey, what's the matter? Your voice sounds funny."

"Uh, it's just been a rough week."

"Yeah, does the global economic crash have anything to with the Warehouse?"

"Only in the sense that it started when the Warehouse blew up, destroying the world's hope."

"The Warehouse blew up? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm in the hospital, and I can't move my legs or ass, but yeah, I'm fine."

"Oh my word, do you want me to come there? Are you in Univille?"

"I'm in Italy. I'm fine, Josh. You don't have to come."

"But what happened?"

"It's kind of complicated. You don't have to come, but could you visit sometime? We've got a lot of work to do to rebuild the Warehouse… but maybe Christmas?"

"Yes, of course! I would love to come visit. Will you still be in Italy?"

"No, I'll be back in Univille. Josh… I really miss you."

"I miss you too, Claude. Let me know if there's anything I can do. And… can we talk again soon?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." She started to get sleepy, the morphine catching up with her.

"Okay."

"Love you, big brother."

"Love you too. Bye."

"Bye." Claudia was thankful to fall asleep shortly after the conversation. But then she began to dream. Her night was filled with Steve, sitting there in that chair, staring at nothing, his neck stretched out, his face pale. Maybe it would have been better to stay awake.

* * *

**Leave a review or send me a message! I love to hear from my readers. **


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, a nurse wheeled Claudia's bed down to a private prayer room on the ground level of the hospital. They had told the nurse that they wanted Claudia to be able to see her dead friend before he was buried. When they entered the room, Steve's body was on a hospital bed, covered by a sheet. Adwin Kosan was standing next to the bed.

"I'll give you some privacy," the young nurse said in her thick Italian accent. When she left, Mr Kosan adjusted Claudia's bed so that she was lying at about 45 degrees, and she could reach Steve's body with her left hand. Her back wasn't stable enough yet to have all her weight on it, so that level of incline was the highest she was allowed to go.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Remember, if anything goes wrong-"

"I know, you'll hold me responsible."

Mr. Kosan slowly pulled the sheet back. Steve was extremely pale, with a yellow tint to his skin. Claudia sucked in a small gasp at the sight of him. If she hadn't had a tight grip on her emotions, she knew she would have started crying right then.

"Okay. I'm going to put the metronome here," he said, pulling up a small table on the right side of Claudia's bed and setting the metronome on it. "Put your hand on that."

She awkwardly stretched out her right arm, and grasped the metronome with her middle and pinkie finger-the only two fingers her cast didn't cover. . "Will that be enough skin contact?"

"It should be okay. Now place the other hand over Steve's heart."

Claudia did so, her braced left hand shaking as she gently rested it on Steve's shirt over his heart.

"I'm going to put my hand over yours. It's very important that you stay focused on bringing him back. You cannot lose your way." Mr. Kosan started the metronome.

"Okay."

"Now, close your eyes. Picture Steve in your head. Think of his face; his eyes."

Claudia closed her eyes and thought of Steve. She pictured the day that they had gone to the war reenactment. Nothing seemed to be happening, and Claudia was getting frustrated.

"Why isn't it working?"

"Be patient. Keep picturing Steve."

The metronome kept tick-tick-ticking, but nothing was happening.

"Mr. Kosan-"

"Shh, Claudia focus."

All of a sudden, Steve sucked in a raspy breath.

"Steve!" Claudia lunged toward him, but due to the fact that she didn't have use of her stomach muscles, she flopped over, her hand dropping from the metronome.

"Claudia, no!" Mr. Kosan quickly pushed Claudia so she was laying back again. The young woman was gasping for air.

"Claudia, breathe. Put your hand back on the metronome."

Claudia was beginning to lose consciousness from her lack of oxygen. Meanwhile, Steve was breathing slowly and raspily.

"Claudia, what do you see?"

"It's white- Steve's there," she said between gasps.

"Okay, call him to you. Don't go to him."

It took an agonizingly long time, but eventually Claudia could breathe normally. Steve had started breathing steadily as well, and his eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Jinsky!" Claudia was careful not to try moving toward him, but held his hand like a lifeline.

"Hey," Steve said, looking around in confusion. "What's happening? Where are we?"

Claudia was crying too hard to explain anything, so Mr. Kosan stepped in.

"Agent Jinks, you're in a hospital in Italy. You were given a dose of a lethal poison by Marcus Diamond, and we had to revive you."

"How did we end up in Italy?"

"You were given the dose 6 days ago. A lot has happened since then."

"Wait… I was… I was dead?"

"Yes."

"For _six _days?"

"Yes."

Steve put his head in his hands. "Oh my god."

"I know it's a lot to handle. We'll give you some time. We have a room set up for you in a hotel nearby, so whenever you're ready, I can take you there."

Steve's eyes roamed over Claudia's bruises, broken arm, sprained wrist, and bulky back brace. "What happened to you, Claude? Was it Sykes?"

"No. Let's not get into it right now," Claudia said, trying to get herself to stop crying.

Steve painfully swung his legs over the right side of his bed, groaning. "I feel like I got hit by a truck." He stood up painfully, and walked around his bed to sit down next to Claudia on her bed.

"Am I going to hurt you if I give you a hug?"

Claudia shook her head and reached out her arms. Steve carefully reached to hug her. Despite how gentle he was, Claudia winced, tears springing to her eyes again, this time from the pain in her neck, shoulders, and arms.

"Jinksy, sorry. You've gotta let go."

"Sorry, sorry."

"Steve, you should really rest," Mr. Kosan said. " There's something you need to do tonight."

"Okay…"

"We'll talk about it after you've had time to rest."

"Alright. Claude, I'll come back soon, okay? Then we can talk more."

"Okay."

* * *

That night, Steve returned to the hospital, along with Artie, Leena, Myka, and the three regents. Mr. Kosan had told Steve about Pete's death, and that night was the funeral. Jane could barely look at Claudia. She didn't hold it against Steve, but felt that Claudia was responsible. Pete's body had been taken care of by an undertaker and now it was in an open casket in the chapel of the hospital. The rest of the Warehouse team filed in slowly, the last of whom was Claudia, wheeled in on her huge hospital bed by a nurse.

"We're here today to mourn the loss of Pete Latimer," Mr. Kosan said. "He was an esteemed Warehouse agent, a good person, and a great friend. He always seemed to make the best out of a bad situation. I want to open it up now for anyone to say something about Pete."

"I'll start," Mrs. Latimer said. She said a few words, then passed it along. Myka went next, and eventually everyone said something about their friend.

* * *

No one felt much like talking after the funeral. Leena, Myka, Steve, and Artie all went back with Claudia to keep her company for a few hours, while the regents went back to the hotel. When the Warehouse team got to the injured agent's room, Steve sat down on the bed, while Myka and Leena sat down in two chairs, and Artie went to find them all some espresso.

"So did Mr. Kosan tell you what happened to everyone?" Claudia asked Steve quietly.

"He told me the Warehouse is gone, and Mrs. Frederic, HG, and Pete are dead."

Claudia nodded soberly, wincing slightly at the pain in her neck.

"He didn't tell me what happened to you."

"I got trapped in a tunnel when I was helping Artie try to find the astrolabe. One of the brothers… brethren? Anyway, one of them set off a trap, and I got crushed under a bunch of rocks. When they were trying to get me out, there was a shift, and a bunch of the rocks fell on my back and apparently injured my spinal cord. I can't move anything below my chest."

"Oh Claude…"

"Don't feel sorry for me. I just want to get back to the States and start working on rebuilding the Warehouse."

"How long do you have to stay here?"

"Probably another week, then I get shipped to a rehab center in Minnesota."

"Wow."

"Yeah. The physical therapist said it's possible I'll be able to gain a little bit of my stomach muscles and if I'm really really lucky I'll be able to move my legs, but not precisely enough to walk without braces and crutches. Probably not enough to walk at all."

"I know you don't want me to feel sorry for you. But I'm just sorry this had to happen."

"It's kind of the least of my worries. I just want to get the Warehouse up and running again."

Just then, Artie came into the room.

"Well, I couldn't find any espresso at this time of night, but I brought gin." He poured small amounts into some plastic cups and passed them around. He hesitated slightly before giving one to Claudia.

"It seems kind of stupid that we're mourning our friend's death by drinking something that ruined so many years of his life," Myka said quietly.

Everyone paused for a few moments.

"Screw it," Myka said, downing the gin. Leena wrapped an arm around her, taking a gulp from her own cup. The team ended up staying late into the night, laughing and crying, telling stories and trying to make sense of the tragedy in their lives.

* * *

Two weeks after the accident, Claudia was transported to Mayo clinic in Minnesota, where she would continue her rehabilitation. The plane ride was long and tedious. Leena tried to keep Claudia entertained, but there wasn't anything pleasant to talk about. All that lay ahead of them was hard, painful, maybe pointless work.

"Leena?" Claudia said after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes?"

"I miss HG. And Mrs. Frederic, and Pete, and the Warehouse."

"I do too."

"Why did this… How could this happen? Is it my fault?"

"What? Of course not!"

"Everyone I meet leaves or… or dies. I grew up not being able to trust anyone. And then I came to the Warehouse, and met six people I could trust with my life. And now… There's only four left. It's just like with Joshua, and with my parents and Claire… I'm the epic fail. I think I need to be reinstated to the ten-foot-poll club."

"But Joshua is still alive. And you brought back Steve."

"How are things ever going to be okay again?"

"Come here," Leena said gently, wrapping Claudia in a careful hug.

"I…" Her emotions were too raw to continue.

"I know."

* * *

After the many-hour plane ride, they were finally in the Rochester airport, and were transported by ambulance to Mayo clinic. Claudia was exhausted and irritable, and Leena felt much the same. Claudia was wheeled on a gurney to the Spinal Cord Rehab ward, and finally into a room.

"Claudia, this is Allie and her mother," The nurse said, indicating a blonde teenager in a bed on one side of the room. She had a neck brace with ventilator tube emerging from the front. She was smiling, but couldn't say anything with her ventilator.

"Hi Claudia," the girl's mother said.

The redhead was lifted by two nurses into her bed, and it was arranged so she was sitting at the typical 45 degree angle. When the nurses left, Claudia looked around the room. It was more homey than she had imagined it would be. The walls were sky blue, and there were frothy curtains on the window. Allie's mother sat in an armchair sat next to the girl's bed, and instead of a sterile hospital blanket, the girl was covered with a patterned quilt.

"Claude, maybe we can bring some things from the B&B for you," Leena said, trying to be comforting.

"I just want to get out of here as quickly as possible."

"Understood."

* * *

Later that day, an occupational therapist named Laura came to start working with Claudia.

"Claudia, the first thing we're going to do is work on sitting up. This will be difficult That is the basis for everything else you'll learn to do. I'm going to put this foam pillow behind you, and pull you forward a bit."

The physical therapist carefully pulled Claudia forward from under her armpits. The redhead felt unsteady and uncomfortable.

"Now, since you don't have control over your stomach muscles, you will have to use your shoulders, chest, and arms to balance. Do you feel comfortable with me letting go of you?"

"Um… I guess."

The physical therapist let go, and almost immediately Claudia fell forward, catching herself on her elbows.

"Crap," Claudia mumbled.

"It is okay. That happens with almost every patient like you I see," the therapist assured her. "I wanted to show you that you will fall during this process. There will be many bumps in the road. My goal is not only to teach you to do things without assistance, but also to teach you how to help yourself when you fall. So, the way you keep from falling backward or forward is by using your body to balance you. Put one arm behind you so that you don't fall backward, and then put your other hand on your thigh and push yourself up."

* * *

Claudia put her right arm in back, figuring the cast might help stabilize her, and then painfully pushed herself up using her braced left arm.

"Very good. We'll work on strengthening exercises for your arms so that will be easier to do. Now I want you to let yourself fall backward."

Claudia pulled her right arm from behind her and immediately collapsed backward, landing on her still-healing back with a wince, tears springing to her eyes.

"It's okay," the OT said. "I know this seems so hard. But it will get easier. It is a tough transition, but you'll get through. "Before your accident, you would simply use your stomach muscles. But now, I'll teach you two new methods for sitting up. One is using your elbows to slowly inch yourself up." She showed Claudia how to do this, and then an alternate method grabbing onto something, like the side of her bed or her jeans, and pulling herself up. It was a tough first day, and the therapy session left Claudia sore and tired, but she also felt like she was finally getting somewhere.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi readers, sorry it's been so long since I've updated any of my stories. I've just moved, so that's been busy, and now I'm starting uni classes again, so I may update rather sporadically. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Claudia began to feel moody and depressed as the days dragged on. Her recovery was going slowly. She couldn't move herself from her bed to her wheelchair yet, she couldn't shower completely independently yet, and her body still hadn't adapted to the bowel program, which meant that she had to wear a diaper. One of the hardest things for her was that she couldn't wear her own clothes. With every limb in a cast or brace, normal clothes were just too difficult to put on, which meant she had to wear hospital gowns or robes every day.

More was on her mind than just recovery. She had been getting weird phantom pains in every part of her body she could feel, which set her on-edge every time she felt one. In the middle of the night her fourth week after the accident, she awoke to feel her bed vibrating. She couldn't figure out where the movement was coming from. Clumsily, she reached her right hand to the remote control to her bed, turning on a dim light and trying not to wake her roommate. She lifted her head slightly, and noticed that her left leg was twitching up and down.

"What the hell?" Claudia exclaimed softly. She reached again for the remote control and pressed the nurse's button. A few moments later, a nurse came into her room.

"My leg is moving," the woman said breathlessly. "Why is my leg moving? Am I getting better? I can't feel anything, but my leg is moving, so it has to mean something… Right?"

"Claudia, it's called a muscle spasm. It's fairly common among paraplegic and quadriplegic patients. Now that your spinal cord is out of shock, it's sending mixed messages to your brain from your legs. There are usually positions or stimuluses that cause or worsen spasms. Your brain doesn't know what to do with the firing nerves in your legs, so this is your body's response."

"So it doesn't mean anything?"

"It just means we need to figure out if we need to put you on some medication to reduce the spasms."

Claudia's heart sunk.

"Here, I'm going to do some range-of-motion exercises with your leg to see if that will calm down your muscles." The nurse moved Claudia's casted leg up and down, then side to side, and eventually her leg stopped twitching.

"I thought…" Claudia mumbled, her voice taut.

"I know, sweetie. I'm sorry. Try to get some rest."

* * *

The next week, Claudia's arm cast was removed. Her arm was covered in scabs and dead skin, and smelled terrible. But she was glad to be able to move it again. It took another few weeks before she could start using it to bear weight. Her progress was slow, but steady.

Meanwhile, at the grounds for the new Warehouse, the team was using artifacts to create the optimum conditions for all of the artifacts and the spirit of the Warehouse. The whole team was exhausted, but they still made an effort to visit Claudia. Leena stayed with her the most, often spending a few days in Rochester before going back to the B&B.

* * *

Steve drove in to visit Claudia one afternoon about 6 weeks after her accident.

"Hey Claude," he said as he entered the room.

"Steve! She reached her arms out and Steve hurried over to give her a hug.

"Hey Allie," he said, turning toward Claudia's roommate, who smiled in response, unable to speak with her trach.

"How's the Warehouse prep going?"

"It's pretty tiring. And a little gross. I think I'll be blowing South Dakota sand out of my sinuses for the rest of my life.

"Ew. I wish I could help."

"You're doing your part. As soon as you can do everything you need to be able to do, you'll be back and you'll help more."

"It'll be a while. I can't start doing transfers by myself until my legs are out of their casts."

"How long will that be?"

"Probably a couple more weeks."

"That's not bad."

"Not bad? Do you know how bored I am?"

"You have your laptop here, right?"

"Yeah, but fruit ninja and candy crush get a little old after a while."

"Hey, you want to go on a walk?"

She snorted.

"You know what I mean."

"Sure. I'll call a nurse in."

"I can get you into your wheelchair." He started to walk around the bed, but stubbed his foot on one corner and hopped around for severals seconds, half-whispering, "ow, ow, ow."

The moment he had stubbed his toe, Claudia's left leg began to twitch, and she sighed in exasperation. When Steve recovered, he turned and stared at Claudia's shaking leg.

"What's-"

"It's a muscle spasm. Here, grab my leg and move it around, will you?"

"Uh, okay. Like this?" He moved her jerking leg in a couple of circles one way, then the other way. Slowly, the muscle twitches stopped, and Claudia sighed.

"Sorry about that."

"No need to be sorry. Still want to go on that walk?"

She nodded, and Steve rounded the bed and grabbed her wheelchair, scooting it close to the bed. He then carefully lifted her into it, and moved the leg rests so they supported her casted legs, then proceeded out of the room and down the hallway.

The day Claudia's leg casts were removed, Steve was visiting her once again. He had noticed that she was in a sour mood, and was trying to get out of her what was wrong.

"So how's your therapy going?"

"Fine."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Now that I can manually bend and position my legs, the therapist is going to have me start working on transfers. I actually have some arm muscle now, so I don't think it'll take too long to pick up." To prove her point, she held up an arm and flexed her bicep. She had been lifting weights and using machines in the PT room to help build up strength.

"Impressive."

Claudia looked down, pondering something.

"So what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Why?"

"Something just seems… wrong."

"Um… Well it's been two months since this happened," she said, gesturing at her legs, "and I thought I'd be doing better than this. "

"Claude, you're doing great."

"I know… It's just- I don't know… These phantom pains are really getting to me."

"Phantom pains?"

"I just keep on getting random little pricks of pain. It's not excruciating, but it's pretty unnerving."

"Huh…"

"It just makes me feel a little crazy. I almost wonder if it's something artifact-y, but it probably isn't."

"I'm sorry. That doesn't sound like fun."

"It's not."

"Oh, I brought something that might get you in a better mood."

"What is it?"

"A batch of Leena's oatmeal scotchies," he said, putting a round tin on the table next to her bed.

"Yes! I feel like it's been forever since I had one." She opened the tin, grabbing a cookie and beginning to munch on it as she looked thoughtfully out the window. "It's weird."

"What is?"

"It feels like it's been forever since the Warehouse got blown up."

"I know."

"I guess things are going to change a lot."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we'll eventually have to hire a couple of new agents to replace Pete and me."

"I guess that's true."

"Even if I could still walk, I probably wouldn't be on the field because of my Caretaker duties."

"Have the regents talked to you about what that all entails?"

"Not really. I think we kind of need a Warehouse for me to take care of before that can happen."

"I guess that makes sense," the man said, grabbing a cookie from the tin. The two stayed together all afternoon, eating cookies and talking about the plans for the new Warehouse. Steve failed to mention the uncomfortable feeling prickling at the back of his neck. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he might know what was causing Claudia's phantom pains.


End file.
